— Did you all get that? — he asked the Slytherins crowding in front of him.
— Yeah, but can I ask a question? — someone shouted from the middle of the common room.
— Go ahead.
— Why are you so mad at Professor Lupin? I mean, I don't know him that well, but he seems like a decent guy.
Victor nodded:
— True, the new Defense professor is quite a worthy wizard, and I can say with confidence that he'll make a fine teacher. But as it turns out, our House Master has an old bone to pick with him. And we, like good little snakes, are simply obligated to help Professor Snape. Any more questions?
— Victor, can you help George?
Victor lowered his gaze to the body sprawling helplessly on the cold stone floor.
— Head into my room, grab a couple of potions, and pour them down his throat, — he replied to George's friend.
— Thanks... — George muttered muffledly, his face still pressed against the floor.
— Alright, great. Now, my faction: did everyone bring their athletic wear? — Victor switched the topic sternly.
— Ye-e-es... — his faction drawled in a gloomy chorus.
— We didn't, — Gemma spoke up. They had only recently joined the group and were not yet familiar with the local routine.
Victor nodded thoughtfully:
— Fair enough. You have until next week — ask your parents to owl your athletic kit from home. We'll start morning workouts next Monday.
— Thanks... — George squeezed out from the floor once more in a barely audible voice, drawing snickers from the entire house.
Victor merely rolled his eyes:
— Alright then, you can go get ready for your first day of classes. And, Lilith... stop misbehaving.
— What? I didn't do anything! — she blinked innocently, looking up at him with the most angelic expression.
Victor only met her with a stern, cold glare.
Lilith deflated instantly and, with a heavy sigh, pulled a hefty pouch of clinking Galleons from her pocket, handing it back to Draco:
— Here, take it back.
Draco accepted the pouch, thoroughly bewildered:
— But... Father personally told me to give it to you!
Lilith smirked, measuring him up:
— I've never even laid eyes on your father. You probably just dreamed it.
Malfoy knit his brows in confusion:
— Dreamed it?.. Well, yeah, most likely you're right. Why on earth would Father order me to hand over my pocket Galleons to someone?
— Excellent then, everyone's dismissed, — Victor let them go.
Daphne, who had been standing silently behind his back the entire time, frowned as she weighed what had just happened with Malfoy.
— So that's her special trait? Manipulating and deceiving? — she asked, convinced that Lilith had simply tricked Draco into giving up his money.
Victor merely shook his head with a smile, choosing not to offer any explanation.
— Victor, can I ask you for a favor?
— Ah, William! The pride of my faction! Of course, mate, speak up, what do you want?
Brown, who despite being a year younger had grown almost as tall as Victor, said with complete gravity:
— Can you train me separately?
Victor tilted his head in surprise:
— But I already train you all. Is one day a week not enough for you?
Brown shook his head:
— It's not enough for me to just keep practicing the same basic spells. I want to learn combat curses. You can train me harsher and deeper than the rest.
Victor smiled in admiration:
— Excellent! Now that's what I call fighting spirit! Alright, just remind me later or I might forget.
— Thank you, — William replied with the same restrained tone. He gave a brief nod to Daphne and exited the common room.
— See, sweetheart, those are the kind of guys we need more of! A real man!
Daphne rolled her eyes:
— Have you forgotten that he's a spy?
— A spy?
Daphne let out a heavy sigh:
— Oh, come on, rack your brain! Moody's nephew, sent here specifically to keep tabs on you. Does that ring a bell?
Victor's eyes widened in surprise:
— Right! I forgot... You think he's asking for private training sessions just to get closer and snoop around?
Daphne nodded:
— I'm sure of it.
Victor frowned briefly, then simply shook his head with a laugh:
— Ah, doesn't matter. The kid has huge potential, and I'm going to unlock it — even if he currently considers me an enemy.
— Victor, you idiot! — Hermione burst into the common room like a whirlwind and immediately set upon him. — Why did you do that?! You're constantly messing with me!
Victor shielded his face in surprise, defending himself against her weak yet furious strikes.
— Hermione, weren't you supposed to go see Professor McGonagall? — Harry and Ron walked into the common room behind her, looking thoroughly baffled.
Hermione stopped abruptly. Frowning, she leveled the fiercest glare she could muster at Victor:
— Don't do that again! — she snapped and bolted out of the common room.
Victor and Daphne exchanged bewildered glances.
— And what was that all about? Don't do... what exactly? — Victor asked, perplexed.
— Beats me, but it seems you offended her somehow.
Victor frowned:
— I haven't even seen her today! — He paused for a moment in thought, and suddenly realization lit up his face. — O-o-oh, I get it! She's just... well, you know, Aunt Flo came to visit.
Daphne shook her head:
— No, way too early. Her "aunt" usually visits during the second half of the month.
Victor stared at her in surprise:
— And how do you know details like that?
— We are girls, in case you forgot, and we share things like that sometimes, — Daphne shrugged nonchalantly.
Victor nodded understandingly.
— Who's visiting Hermione in the second half of the month? — Ron chimed in, thoroughly confused, having already walked right up to them.
— Oh, Harry, Ron! Where did you two come from? — Victor asked in surprise.
— We actually walked in right behind Hermione... Ah, whatever, doesn't matter! Victor, Professor McGonagall asked us to tell you to stop by her office before breakfast, — Harry said.
— Huh? Alright, I'll drop by.
After exchanging a few more words, the boys said their goodbyes and went about their business.
Victor went to get ready: after washing up and getting dressed, he headed toward McGonagall's office. Just as he reached the door, a beaming Hermione stepped out.
— Victor, good morning! — She gave a bright smile and, quickly looking around to make sure the corridor was empty, stepped up and kissed him on the lips.
Victor merely blinked in confusion. What on earth was going on with this girl today? First she comes at him with fists flying, then she kisses him... And they're the ones calling him crazy! He rolled his eyes in dismay.
At that moment, Victor noticed an elegant, long gold chain around her neck.
— Whoa... — He curiously caught the pendant between his fingers.
Hermione looked at him proudly:
— Like it? Do you know what this is?
Victor nodded with a devious smirk:
— Yup.
He gave the Time-Turner a spin and let it go. The tiny hourglass spun wildly on its chain.
— Hey, what are you doing?! — Hermione cried out, and that very instant vanished into thin air.
— Ha-ha-ha! — Victor chuckled softly, stepping up to the door. — O-o-oh, so that's what she meant by "don't do that again"!
Grinning, he knocked:
— Professor McGonagall, may I come in?
Fifteen minutes later, Victor stepped out of the office and stared gloomily at the parchment in his hand. It was his new schedule and a list of struggling Gryffindor students for whom he was now required to run extra tutoring sessions every Saturday. This was something he and McGonagall had agreed on back last year. Except they had talked about two days a month — why had it turned into weekly classes?
— Well, it's only an hour and a half a week... An hour and a half out of my day off, — Victor rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully and let out a heavy sigh. — Fine, I'll spend four hours on my little imps instead of five, and everything will be fine.
With a cheerful smirk, Victor headed toward the Great Hall. But right in front of the tall doors, Professor Flitwick caught him off guard, parchment in hand.
— Here, take this, everything is mapped out in detail! Minerva and I have already planned it all out. You'll even have half an hour left to rest! Don't worry, my little eagles are a bright bunch through and through, a few just need a bit of a push. Thank you, Victor! — Professor Flitwick patted him merrily on the shoulder and zipped into the hall.
Victor froze dead in his tracks, blinking continuously while clutching two schedules in his hands.
— Mr. Moss?
— Yes... — he answered in a slightly raspy voice. — Ahem, I mean... yes?
Professor Sprout was approaching him with a warm smile. Victor had a very bad feeling about this.
— You're just the person I was looking for!
In the Great Hall, students were chatting merrily over breakfast, genuinely happy to be back at school. Only Victor sat completely crushed. He hadn't even touched his food, staring with dead eyes at the three sheets of parchment laid out on the table before him.
— Daphne... why are they doing this to me?
Daphne, calmly chewing on her toast, shrugged:
— Slytherin's exam results are the best in the entire school. Thanks to your electives, we even passed Ravenclaw and are now officially considered the smartest house. So the Headmasters of the other houses are just jealous.
Victor sighed heavily and gave a gloomy nod. Now he was obligated to give up nearly five hours of his day off to other houses, while his own Slytherin was left with only two hours instead of the usual five.
— VICTOR, IT BROKE! — Astoria ran up to them. Dark circles hung under her eyes, her hair was disheveled, and she was frantically clutching a Game Boy in her hands. — Please fix it!
Daphne frowned indignantly:
— Did you play all night?! So that's why you didn't come to sleep in our room!
Astoria ignored her older sister entirely, fixing Victor with a pleading gaze:
— Can it be fixed?
Victor glanced over the console. A set of new batteries appeared in his hand out of thin air, and he deftly swapped out the drained ones.
As soon as the screen lit up, Astoria's eyes sparkled with delight, but before she could even reach out her hand, Daphne snatched the Game Boy away.
— Hey, give it back!
Daphne looked sternly at her sister:
— No. Sit down and eat breakfast.
— Will you give it back after?
— No. After that, you're going to class. And if you behave yourself, I'll let you have it for a couple of hours tonight.
— Only a couple of hours?! No, that's not enough! I won't have time to help Mario get home in that time! — Astoria protested.
Victor looked at her in surprise:
— Have you been playing Super Mario all night? Do you even know there are other games on there?
— Wha-a-at?! Other games?! There are more games... New games?! — Astoria froze on the spot, shock-muttering something under her breath.
Daphne frowned and gave Victor a sharp pinch on the thigh:
— Look at what you've done to my sister! You've completely broken her. Take this Muggle contraption back. If I catch Astoria with it again, I'm burning it!
Victor merely shrugged and stashed the Game Boy back into his spatial ring with a practiced motion. Astoria watched the disappearing toy with genuine sorrow.
— You haven't forgotten what we agreed on yesterday? — Victor changed the subject, addressing Daphne.
— Everything's set. I notified everyone and posted announcements all over the common room. Starting at five in the evening.
Victor nodded in satisfaction:
— Good, very good. Right then, I'm off to find my sister — I haven't hugged my princess today yet.